Applying to the Objectivist Academic Center

You should find most of your questions concerning applications answered on this page. It explains what you will need to prepare, what to submit, how and when to do so, and what to expect once you have applied. As part of the application process, the OAC may contact you for a phone interview.

If you have questions after reviewing this page, please email us at oac@aynrand.org.

We review every complete application in full and take all application components into account in our decision. We wish you the best on your application!

Deadlines

Early Deadline: Midnight Pacific Time, Wednesday, April 15, 2015. Early applicants will schedule an entrance exam to be taken during the following week. Early applicants will either be accepted or wait-listed, and can expect to hear from us by the end of May.

Final Deadline: Midnight Pacific Time, Friday, July 31, 2015.
Applicants will schedule an entrance exam to be taken during the following week. Applicants can expect to hear from us by the end of August.

Application Checklist

1. Submit an Online Application Form. In order to schedule an entrance exam and to be considered for a phone interview, you must complete our online application form.

Instructions for Completing the Online Application:

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Please review the questions in advance before completing the form online, so you will know what information you will need to gather to complete your application.

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In order to prevent your written-response answers from being lost due to Internet connection issues, it is recommended that you review the application questions and draft your short-answer responses in a separate word processing program. You should edit and proofread your answers in advance. Paste in your final, polished draft using the online form. (Note: The online application cannot be saved in-progress, and it must be completed in one sitting; however the application questions can be reviewed in advance.)

2. Mail in your Official Transcript. Applicants should mail in official transcripts from all universities attended. If you are in high school or have just begun your undergraduate studies, please mail in your current high school transcript or whatever official records are available to you. You may have your electronic transcripts sent to oac@aynrand.org. Paper transcripts should be ordered from your university’s registrar and sent to:

If sent by mail, transcripts must be postmarked no later than April 15 for early admission, or July 31 for regular admission.

3. Complete an Entrance Examination. At the bottom of your online application form, you will choose your examination date from among a list of available slots. This online, closed-book entrance exam is required for consideration for acceptance into the Objectivist Academic Center. See the Entrance Examination section below for more information.

Entrance Examination

As part of your application to the Objectivist Academic Center, you will be required to take an entrance examination. Within the online application form, you will select a date and a two-hour block of time. For the date and hour you select, we will send you an email containing instructions for the exam.

You must email back your completed exam within two (2) hours of the exam having been sent to you. Answers can be sent as an attachment or written directly in the body of an email. The exam is “closed book,” which means that you cannot consult any books or notes when writing it. As with the online application form, it is recommended that you draft your responses in an offline word processing program.

Here are some things to consider before your exam date:

• Be sure to make a note of the date and time you selected as that is when the exam will be administered.

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ARI’s offices are located in California, and therefore the exam times are listed in Pacific standard time. Please be sure to adjust the chosen test time to your time zone accordingly.

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If you have more than one email address, list first on the application form the one you check most frequently. This is the email address to which we will send the entrance exam.

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The entrance exam is required of all applicants. We expect applicants to have some familiarity with Ayn Rand’s ideas. Therefore, the exam presupposes that you have read The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, The Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal and Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. To prepare for the exam, you may wish to read or reread these books.

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On the day of the exam, check your email at the appointed hour. If you do not receive your entrance exam by the time you chose on your application, please check your spam folder. If you do not find your exam there, please email oac@aynrand.org immediately.

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The time limit for writing the exam is 1 hour and 30 minutes. Follow the instructions, contained in the exam rubric, on how to submit your completed exam by email. Within two business days of submission, you will receive an email confirming receipt of your exam. Email us only if you do not receive the confirmation within two business days.

Enrolling

Prior to enrolling and as a condition of joining the OAC, students who are invited to join the program will be asked to sign and submit by electronic signature the OAC Student Agreement Form (supplied with the notification email). All students are required to sign this form.

After we receive students’ signed OAC Student Agreement, they will be added to the OAC student email list. They will also receive a copy of the OAC student handbook, which outlines our procedures and policies on grading and attendance.

The schedule of classes will be finalized by early October. A week or so before the start of the fall semester, students will be able to log onto the website of the classes that they will be taking.